Fencing: Stephanie Collister wins place at European Cadet Championships

Dec 22 2011 Chester Chronicle

A SIXTH-form student from Christleton High is to represent Great Britain at European level.

Stephanie Collister, 16, of Boughton, has been picked on the British under 17s foil fencing team for the European Cadet Championships in Porec, Croatia, next March.

After two seasons of making the reserve list, the Chester teenager has forced her way into the British team at the third time of asking.

Selection is based upon a fencer’s best results throughout the season.

Collister travelled to the Cabries tournament in France knowing that a good performance would be enough for her to seal one of the four places available on the GB team.

The Cabries event was the final overseas competition of the year and Collister went there looking to add to her British junior gold medal and bronze medal finishes at the British Cadet Championships and Manchester International.

Collister – a Wales international who qualifies through her Welsh mother – got off to a flier by winning four of her opening six fights and narrowly losing a fifth. But in the second set of poules she ran the risk of an early exit.

However, thanks to assistance from her travelling coach Jayne Hanlon, she made it into to the next round.

She progressed to the final 16, beating British team-mate Alex Fitton along the way, before being knocked out.

The top-16 finish nonetheless meant Collister recorded the best ever result by a female British foilist at the French event, while moving her into second place in the British ranking list.

With two events left in the season, Collister is now looking good to qualify for the British squad in next year’s World Junior and Cadet Championships. As things stand, she is likely to make the three-strong team for the championships, which will be held in Moscow in April.